In the News

November 18, 2014 | With Monday’s announcement that Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) will lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, all four House and Senate party committee chairmanships are now filled heading into the 2016 election cycle. While a mix of skills lead to success in these slots, contributions from leadership PACs are often thought to enhance candidates’ chances…

October 31, 2014 | This story is cross-posted at TIME.com With just a few days remaining in the first quarter of 2014, Mary Landrieu did something generous: The embattled Democratic senator from Louisiana, herself in the midst of an exceedingly tough re-election race, used her leadership PAC to give $5,000 to the campaign of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who…

October 16, 2014 | The involvement of immediate family members in a drunken brawl does little to boost one’s political prospects. On a different level, the same might be said of a stingy leadership PAC. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s SarahPAC continued to perform underwhelmingly as a source of funds for other candidates in 2014’s third quarter, a…

October 3, 2014 | They may be called super PACs, but they can’t be everywhere at once. It’s become fashionable for these committees, which can spend unlimited amounts on ads backing or attacking candidates anywhere in the country, to tout their allegiance to a state. But as often as not, an OpenSecrets Blog analysis found, they run mainly on out-of-state money. We tallied up…

August 18, 2014 | In Alaska’s Senate primary race, the Republican establishment has downplayed threats to its top candidate, Dan Sullivan. Yet his challengers, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell, have triggered a frenzy of last-minute spending to ensure Sullivan wins the Tuesday election. As of late July, Sullivan had about $4.1 million in the bank — over three times more…

July 15, 2014 | In 2004, Randy DeLay was asked by the commissioners of the Port of Brownsville, Texas, to justify his $25,000 monthly lobbying bills. Why was he submitting such high travel expenses for what appeared to be junkets? DeLay, the younger brother of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), explained to them that lobbying is expensive work, especially when you’re trying to…

July 11, 2014 | We’ve written before about “single-candidate super PACs,” outside spending groups that exist solely to support or oppose a sole office-seeker. Last cycle, virtually every presidential candidate had at least one dedicated super PAC. Some are managed by the candidate’s close associates, most notably Restore Our Future, last cycle’s top-spending super PAC and one of Mitt…

July 8, 2014 | Despite objections from a handful of Democrats, the Senate voted on Monday to move forward with a pro-hunting bill that has delighted most gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association. Introduced by embattled incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act (S. 2363) would unlock funding to build shooting ranges on public land while easing hunting restrictions. But…

March 12, 2014 | It's hard to sort out lobbyists' motivations for making campaign contributions. But the top recipients of their donations so far this cycle are a bit of a surprise: Top Republican leadership and at-risk Senate Democrats.

March 5, 2014 | Sean Noble's mammoth group -- which since 2009 has funneled $170 million-plus to conservative organizations involved in politicking -- seemed to be on the outs last year with its main backers. Now, say hello to American Encore.

July 26, 2013 | The results in just a handful of Senate races in November 2014 -- four, maybe five -- will likely go a long way in determining which party will walk away from the midterm elections with a chamber majority. But challengers to the incumbents in these seats have more than name recognition issues to overcome. For now, according to second-quarter campaign committee filings, the incumbents hold a decisive fundraising advantage over their opponents.

June 17, 2013 | Market prices for liquefied natural gas are typically higher abroad, and API's member companies could reap vast profits overseas. But the fight to drop export restrictions is pitting them against another strong presence in Washington with whom they are sometimes allied: domestic users of their products, including DOW Chemical.

February 14, 2013 | Americans borrow a lot of money, and so do members of Congress. In 2011, lawmakers owed between $238.9 million and $568.3 million to various creditors, not including their home mortgage obligations. But it's not all student and car loans and carried-over credit card balances. Lawmakers borrow to buy planes and boats, and get involved in complex transactions involving lines of credit and margin loans with exclusive investment funds. And some carry credit card balances of more than $100,000.

June 15, 2011 | One-fifth of the senate, or 20 members, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, have filed for extensions, meaning the financial disclosures won't be released until later this summer.

June 15, 2011 | Many members of Congress have a vested interest -- beyond just their political careers -- in the performance of the same organizations that are supposed to be their watchdogs, a Center for Responsive Politics investigation indicates.

April 19, 2011 | After a year of largely self-imposed campaign finance exile, embattled oil company BP is again making federal political contributions from the political action committee sponsored by its North American subsidy, a Center for Responsive Politics review of federal records indicates.

July 27, 2010 | A Scout's motto is "be prepared" -- and in Washington, D.C., scouting organizations stay prepared with the help of hired lobbyists. Last year, the Girl Scouts reported $199,000 in lobbying expenses, including fees to a firm run by a former member of Congress, while the Boy Scouts paid out $180,000 to a firm that also represents a tobacco company and a foreign government.

July 2, 2010 | An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that the committee members with the most campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry more frequently commented on the alleged failures of the federal government's cleanup effort and excessive red tape connected to the Jones Act and the Clean Water Act.

May 19, 2010 | Massive campaign war chests and establishment endorsements were not enough to be victorious in some of the country's most contested Senate primaries Tuesday night. One sitting Senator was defeated and another is heading to a run-off in three weeks, as candidates worked to distance themselves from Washington and position themselves as crusaders against special interests in charged anti-incumbent environments.

August 26, 2009 | Embattled political financier Hassan Nemazee, who faces decades in prison after federal authorities arrested him for allegedly attempting to secure a fradulent loan from Citigroup, has donated money to 75 federal political candidates, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

June 25, 2009 | Here's a cool tool that brings together data from various parts of OpenSecrets.org to show how much money each current lawmaker has raised from various health-related industries and the health sector overall since 1989 (including President Obama's haul).

January 6, 2009 | The 111th Congress started its first session today and the newbies will likely be the most overwhelmed. They will quickly learn what the veterans know so well: the donors and industries that helped you win your seat often expect payback. On OpenSecrets.org we've provided a full list of the freshmen with links to their money profiles.

October 28, 2008 | The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Ted Stevens, was found guilty yesterday on seven counts of lying on his financial disclosure forms about thousands of dollars of improper gifts from Bill Allen, the former chief executive of oil services company Veco. CRP provides a roundup of the money behind the senator.

August 28, 2008 | What does it take to be your party's candidate-of-choice for the Senate even after you've been indicted in a scandal? Apparently it takes $4.2 million and 39 years in Congress already under your belt. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) won his party's primary race Tuesday, despite being indicted for allegedly failing to report $250,000 in gifts from the embattled oil services company Veco. Veco employees have given Stevens $28,500 for his re-election funds. Stevens's competitors in the primary were self-financed and came nowhere near bringing in his haul.

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